Obama: U.S. to help Nigeria find kidnapped girls

ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 7, 2014 12:01 AM

Mia Kuumba, of the District of Columbia, brandishes a wooden stick during a rally in front of the Nigerian embassy in northwest Washington, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, protesting the kidnapping of nearly 300 teenage schoolgirls, abducted from a school in the remote northeast of Nigeria three weeks ago. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 7, 2014 12:01 AM

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said the U.S. will do everything it can to help Nigeria find nearly 300 teenage girls who have been missing since they were kidnapped from school three weeks ago.

The Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the abductions. The group's leader has threatened to sell the girls.

Obama said the Nigerian government has agreed to accept help from U.S. military and law enforcement officials experienced in these types of situations. He said he can only imagine what the girls' parents are going through.

Obama said the immediate priority is finding the girls.

He said the international community will then have to deal with the threat posed by groups like Boko Haram.

Obama commented Tuesday in an interview with Al Roker of NBC's "Today" program.

The mass abduction has sparked international outrage and mounting demands for Nigeria do more to free the girls.

"Time is of the essence," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Secretary of State John Kerry repeated the long-standing offer of U.S. assistance during a conversation Tuesday with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

"The president was very happy to receive this offer and ready to move on it immediately," Kerry told reporters at a State Department news conference with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"We are immediately engaging in order to implement this. We remain deeply concerned about the welfare of these young girls," Kerry said.

The experts, including a team to be assembled by the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, will share their skills on intelligence, investigations, hostage negotiating, information sharing and victim assistance, as well as officials with other expertise, Carney said.